she said, gasping. Eyes wide, she stared back and forth between her friends. “Do you really think that could happen?”
“Do you really want to take that chance?” Donna asked, solemnly. “Take Levi up on his very generous offer, Willow. Trust me.”
Now she had no choice but to look at Levi, and she couldn’t quite read his expression. “You know this won’t be a quick trip, right?”
“Right now, I don’t know anything about it,” he said lightly. “But maybe we can get together tomorrow for lunch and talk about it?”
She practically sagged with relief. A night to think about it would really help, and to be able to sit with him without her friends hovering would be even better.
Smiling, she nodded. “Sounds good! Where should I meet you?”
“Why don’t you meet me here tomorrow around noon and we can pick a place to go then,” he suggested.
“It’s a date!” she said and then realized she was already way too into this fake relationship than she should be. “I mean…it’s not really…it’s…”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Willow, I know what you meant, and yeah, it’s a date.” Smiling, Levi winked and took a step back. “You ladies have a good night. I’ll be at the bar if you need anything.” And then he turned and walked away, the crowd swallowing him up.
But that didn’t stop her from trying to watch.
“Oh. My. God!” Jen said excitedly, slapping Willow on the back. “This is amazing! Not only do you get to see your grandmother like you wanted, but you get to do it with a hot boyfriend! Yay, you!”
“I don’t know…”
“One week of having that sexy man all to yourself!” Donna chimed in. “How awesome is that?”
Sighing loudly, Willow faced both her friends. “I never said I was going to do this.”
They both looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Why wouldn’t you?” Donna asked. “What’s the matter? Is he not hot enough? Nice enough? Sexy enough?” She huffed with annoyance. “When a hot guy offers to help you out, you say yes!”
“What if he’s crazy, huh? What if he’s like some sort of deranged murderer and this is his MO? We don’t even know him!” Willow countered. “It’s not right to just go on a trip with a stranger! I may never come back!”
“Okay, no more late-night serial killer documentaries for you,” Jen murmured as they all sat down around the table.
“I do not watch serial killer documentaries,” she murmured.
“Oh, please! You are such a liar!” Donna cried. “We’ve binge-watched several of them together!”
“Maybe a few…”
“Last month, we spent an entire Saturday watching them!” Jen added. “Remember? You brought your famous death by chocolate brownies, and we all thought it was the perfect dessert for a serial killer marathon?”
“Okay, I think we’re getting off-topic here. The fact is that we know nothing about Levi!”
“We know…”
“And saying he’s good looking doesn’t count!” she quickly interjected before either friend could bring that up again.
Like she needed the reminder of how attractive he is–tall, muscular, sandy brown hair, dark blue eyes, and a dimple.
Yeah, she was very familiar with Levi’s looks.
“It’s obvious that you’re attracted to him,” Donna said. “And now you get to like…practice date him.”
“Practice date? What does that even mean?”
“It means you get to sample the goods before committing,” Jen said, laughing. “Like…you know…a test drive! You get to date him for a week, and if there’s a spark there, you can explore it afterward. But you’ll have the week you’re away with him to see if you might be a good fit.”
“It’s perfect, Willow. The two of you could fall madly in love and…”
“We don’t even know his last name for crying out loud!”
“So you’ll find it out tomorrow on your date. What’s the big deal?” Jen asked. “You spend a couple of hours with him and…you know…interview him.”
“Interview him? What does that even…” She paused. “Okay, how do I do that without being obvious or sounding like a complete dork?”
“Well, you’re going to be obvious, Willow,” Donna said. “You’re going to have to have a list of questions that you need him to answer so you’ll be believable in front of your family.”
“Yeah, and as for the dorky part…um…just…don’t,” Jen reasoned.
Opting to ignore that comment, she looked at Donna. “Like what kind of questions?” Groaning, she added, “This already is beginning to feel like way too much work.”
“Oooh! I know!” Jen said excitedly. “Let’s finish our drinks and go back to your place! We’ll pick up some ice cream or something